As it was | Richie Tozier

003

"And I don't want to go home right now"

   "Take everything but the delicious deals, guys. My mom loves them" says Eddie watching Richie and Bill rummage through his cabinets.

   "Hey, first you said the barons, now you're saying the sewer. I mean- what if we get caught." Says Eddie his voice going quieter at the end. "Oh my fucking god, we won't." I say leaning my head back a little annoyed.

   "We won't Ed. The sewers are p-public works. We're the public aren't we?" Asks Bill shrugging his shoulders. "Hey Eddie, these your birth control pills?" Asked Richie opening a cabinet filled with pills.

    "Yeah and I'm saving them for your sister. This is private stuff." Says Eddie shutting the cabinet as Bill starts to walk out and we all follow.

    "Eddie bear. Where are you boys off to in such a rush?" "Um j-just my house. My backyard misses K. I got a new-" says Bill, stopping to think.

    "A new croquet set. Jezz spit it out b-b-bill." Says Richie mocking Bill, making me elbow him. "Ok." Eddie's mom says believing us.

    "Oh and sweetie don't go rolling around on the grass especially if it's just been cut. You know how bad your allergies can get." "Yes mom. Let's go." Eddie ushering us out before his mom stops him. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

   Eddie slowly walks over to his mom giving her a peck on the cheek making me and Richie burst out laughing.

    "You want one from me to Mrs.K?"says Richie making me elbow him again which he adds "I was kidding."

   "No. No. Bye mommy." Says Eddie before shutting the door. "Richie get on your damn bike so I can get on." I say to Richie who is dying laughing on the ground.

   "Sorry. Sorry." He says wiping the tears off his face from laughing . "Wait, why are y'all sharing a bike?" Asks Eddie looking at Richie and me.

   "Henry still hasn't pumped my bike tires up. I'll get him to do them tonight." I inform Eddie who just nods as we start to head down the street.

<3

   "That's poison ivy. and That's poison ivy. And that's poison ivy." Says Stanley as we walk up to the sewer entrance. "Where?! Where's the poison ivy?" Asks Eddie concerned about touching some.

   "No where. Not every fucking plant is poison ivy." Richie and I say at the same time but he adds Stanley to the end. We both look at each other and laugh. We do it often because we've hung out everyday for years now.

   "Ok well I'm starting to get itchy. Now. And- and I'm pretty sure this is not-" "do you use the same bathroom as your mother?" Asks Richie cutting Eddie off As Bill and Richie head inside. Richie turns quickly holding out his hand for me to take.

"Sometimes yeah." "Then you probably have crabs."
   "That's so not funny." Says Eddie from the sewer entrance.

   "So we don't loose each other." Says Richie Quietly to me gesturing to our hands then turning and facing Eddie and Stanley who stood outside the sewer.

    "Aren't you guys coming in?" He asked the two boys. "Uh-uh that's grey water." "What the hell is grey water." I ask before Richie can.

"It's basically piss and shit. So I'm just telling you. You guys are splashing around in millions and gallons of derry pee." Says Eddie as Richie smells a stick with grey water on it. "Are you serious? What are you-" "doesn't smell like caca to me senor"

    "Ok I can smell that from here." "It's probably just your breath wafting back into you face." I say before Richie can get to it. He turns to me laughing saying he was going to say that.

    "Have you ever heard of a staff infection?" Asked Ed as he did some weird hand gesturing.

    "Oh I'll show you staff infection." Says Richie grabbing some one's old underwear and throw it at Ed who let out a scream stopping his rambling. "Are you retarded. I mean your the reason we're in this situation right now-"

     "Guys!" "Shit don't tell me that's..." says Stanley his voice cracking a little as Bill walks over to Richie and me. "No. G-G-Georgie weared glasses." Says Bill as he shines the flashlight on the shoes he found.

     "Who's sneaker is it?" Asked Ed from the entrance. "It's Betty Ripsons." Says Richie as the name comes to view. "Ah shit. Oh god. Oh fuck. I don't like this."

     "How do you think Betty feels. Walking around these tunnels with only one freaking shoe." Jokes Richie but no one laughs as I elbow him. I always seemed to elbow him when he joked at the wrong time.

    "What if she's still here?" Asks Stanley making Bill, Richie, and I go deeper into the sewer. "Eddie come on." Says Richie to the boy.

    "My mom will have an aneurysm if she finds out we're playing down here. I'm serious. Bill..." says Ed talking fast like normal.

    "If I was Betty Ripson I would want us to find her... G-G-Georgie too." Bill finally speaks for one of the first times in this conversation.

"What if I don't want to find them?" Says Eddie making all of us turn to face him. "I mean no offense bill but I don't want to end up like G-. I don't want to go missing either." Says Eddie. "He has a point."

    "Y-y-you too?" "It's summer! We're supposed to be having fun. This isn't fun." Starts Stanley as us in the sewer look at each other. Bill looks at us for reassurance to which Richie just shrug and j give a soft smile.

    "This is scary and disgusting-" Stanley starts again before getting cut off by a boy falling in the water. Scaring all of us as we rush out of the sewer. "Holy Shit. What happened to you?" Asked Richie as we all rushed over to the boy and I let go of Richies hand.